complete verse (2 Samuel 1:13)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 1:13:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then, David asked that person who brought him that news that, ‘Where do you belong?’ That person replied that, ‘I am an Amalekite who is a stranger/foreigner in your land.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then David said to the young man who brought that news, "Where do you come from?"
    And he answered, "I am an Amalekite, but now I live in your country."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “David still asked the young man who reported to him, ‘Where do- you (sing.) -come-from?’ He answered, ‘I am an Amaleknon who lives in your (plur.) land.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then David asked the young man who had told him about the battle, ‘Where are you from?’ He replied, ‘My father is a descendant of Amalek, but we live in Israel.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

David

The name that is transliterated as “David” in English means “beloved.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Elizabeth” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).


“David” in German Sign Language (source )

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about David (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: David .

2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 1:13

As is often the case, the verb said will be better rendered “asked” in many languages, since it introduces a question.

The young man who told him: see the comments at verses 5 and 6.

The question Where do you come from? in this verse is not quite the same as in verse 3. While the question in verse 3 has to do with where the man had been immediately before his encounter with David, here the question is rather one of ultimate origin. The Good News Translation rendering is identical with that of New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Anchor Bible, and New American Bible: “Where are you from?” In some languages the most natural way to ask for this information will be to say “What is your village?” or “Where are your parents from?”

The son of a sojourner: it is possible that this signifies membership in a group (see 2.7), like many other expressions beginning with “son of…” or “sons of….” In this case the Amalekite messenger states that he is one of the group of foreigners living among the people of Israel. If this is the correct interpretation here, then the young man is not stating that his father was a foreigner, only that he himself is (so Good News Translation and Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). Most versions, however, seem to understand son of here to mean that his father was an alien also.

The word sojourner comes from a root meaning to live among a people who are not blood relatives. Such a person would not normally have the same rights as his hosts; rather, according to Lev 19.33-34, he would be dependent on their hospitality. Apart from the Good News Translation model, translators may consider “son of a resident alien” (Moffatt and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “son of an Amalekite immigrant” (New American Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), or “my father … was an alien, a man of Amalec” (Knox).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .